


Life And Fairness

by WinterTheWriter



Series: Building Happily Ever After [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Doctor Who (2005), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bro-bonding, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, MoT universe, Science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 00:52:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8307541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterTheWriter/pseuds/WinterTheWriter
Summary: Bruce and Koschei are sleep-deprived, stressed out, and really just want a cup of coffee to help them get through this long night in the lab.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yay for plot advancement! Takes place a month after The Great Stoschei Twitter Reveal, and obviously won't make sense if you haven't read Matter of Time. (Read Matter of Time. Print Matter of Time out and stable it around your school, your office, your boss' desk*. Do as I command.
> 
>  
> 
> *Not responsible for any loss of jobs that may occur when doing as I command.) Enjoy!

Honestly, it’s like the Coffee Gods hate them and only them. Bruce is practically comatose on the lab’s couch, and Koschei has been desperately searching the tower (as quietly as he can, since it’s bloody 4 in the morning) for ANY caffeine, but both the tea and the coffee are nowhere to be found. With a defeated groan, Koschei shuffles back into the lab and gently shakes Bruce’s shoulder, who jerks awake with a grunt and rushes to adjust his glasses.

“Don’t get excited,” Koschei harrumphs, plopping down next to him and leaning his head back against the couch. “Nothing. Anywhere.” Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose and fights a yawn.

“Oh well. Thanks for checking, man.”

“Think we should call it a night?” Or a morning. Fuck. But Bruce shakes his head and clears his throat, stretching his arms high above his head before standing up (slowly, and with a groan). 

“Nah. We’re close to something, I know we are. We’re scientists — let’s go until we pass out, the way we’re meant to.” Koschei smiles a bit and nods, heaving his own patented Old Man Sounds as he stands. 

“Remind me again why Tony isn’t helping?” 

“Because he’s an engineer and so he doesn’t care about doing any physics that doesn’t involve building big robots?”

“Right.” 

“Probably for the best, though. You don’t wanna see what an exhausted Tony is like when there’s no coffee around.” They share a laugh and Koschei concedes the point, scratching his chin idly as he slowly makes his way back to his station.

They’ve been working for about 12 hours now, practically barricaded in the lab with nothing but a mini-fridge of junk food and energy drinks (which they are also out of), trying their best to figure out /why/ and /how/ the crack between the universes came to be. In the past month since Steve and Koschei got together, everyone sort of forgot about the issue — between press and Q+A’s and petty battles here and there, there’s just been too much to do, and nothing else has leaked through in that time. But yesterday, when Koschei and Steve were running around Central Park, Koschei heard — just barely, just distantly — a familiar whirring sound that made him stop in his tracks (and Steve almost fall onto him). 

Neither of them went searching for it. Koschei isn’t even completely sure he heard it correctly. But as soon as they got home, just a little earlier than normal, Koschei sought out Bruce and away they went. 

Koschei’s starting to regret that now, though. He’s pretty sure he can taste colors if he really tried. 

Him and Bruce lapse into a concentrated but exhausted silence as they work, Koschei running mini-experiments on the molecules of Time only he can work with, and Bruce working on an algorithm that’ll let them find and measure the crack. Meanwhile, both of them have already compiled a list of theories to work through, debunking as many as possible in the hopes of narrowing the list down. So far, well, they’ve needed to make three new lists. 

Nothing makes sense. 

“So,” Bruce starts awkwardly, glancing at Koschei over the rim of his glasses. “That sound you heard — it belonged to your…ex?” The artron energy fizzles out of Koschei’s fingertips as he pauses, blinking up at him.

“Yes, so to speak. Why?”

“Because, and I’m just assuming, that means you two are the same species. From the same planet. Right?”

“Mhmm. Grew up together and everything.” Messy bed-head and wistful smiles…

“So…and, just hear me out here, but if he’s here…couldn’t he help? I mean, you said he sorta explores for a living, and he’s just as smart as you, so if he actually did get through, why don’t we look for him?”

Koschei grimaces and clears his throat, shifting awkwardly on his feet. “It’s…just not a good idea.” Bruce winces sympathetically.

“Bad break-up?” he said, softly. 

/Just the two of us, the way it’s meant to be./ 

“You could say that, yes,” Koschei replies, glancing down. “Normally, I would…disregard any past issues for the sake of the greater good, but…he has requested that I never speak to him again. He despises me. I doubt he’d be open to help regardless.” 

“Koschei,” Bruce murmurs, walking over and resting a friendly hand on Koschei’s shoulder. “With the way this is going, if we really don’t figure something out soon, we might not have a choice but to try. You know that, right?” 

Koschei sighs and closes his eyes, hands resting on his desk and his head bowed as he nods. Of course he knows. He’s been dreading it, but he knew as soon as he heard that damn sound. As always, the Doctor is his only hope. Even after he’s moved on and found a better, stronger love.

Gods, why can’t life ever be fair for once?

Bruce’s hand disappears and Koschei opens his eyes to watch as Bruce circles the room, seemingly to stretch his legs, but Koschei knows how much he dislikes tension, so he looks away, forcing his posture to relax as he tries to concentrate on his work once more.

More silence. Twenty minutes go by without incident. 

“Hey,” Bruce calls, smiling tiredly. Koschei looks up and Bruce waves a bag of something, the cabinet underneath the chemical sink open. “I found the coffee!”


End file.
